Methods and systems for providing departure notification from a travel assistance system

• US 8,362,894 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Shah, Rupal Bhavin
• Primary Examiner(s): CROSLAND, DONNIE L
• Application Number:
  US12/609,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20100109861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 340/522, 340/994, 701/465
• US Class Current: 340/522
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0288 Attachment of child unit to child/article

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing a departure notification from a travel assistance system are disclosed. A source location, a destination location and a desired destination arrival time are received at a travel assistance system. At least one travel parameter operable to affect departure time from the source location to the destination location is received at the travel assistance system. A departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time based on the source location, the destination location, the desired destination arrival time and the at least one travel parameter is determined. A departure notification is issued from the travel assistance system to a client system. The departure notification includes the departure time.

Claims

1. A method of providing a departure notification from a travel assistance system, the method comprising:

receiving, by the travel assistance system, a source location, a destination location, information related to a transportation commodity at the destination location, and a desired destination arrival time at the destination location;

receiving, by the travel assistance system, travel parameter data from a transportation status system based on the information related to the transportation commodity at the destination location;

determining a departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time based on the source location, the destination location, the desired destination arrival time and the travel parameter data; and

issuing a departure notification from the travel assistance system to a client system, the departure notification including the departure time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing communicative coupling between the travel assistance system and the client system via a system selected from a group consisting of a network infrastructure, an Internet network, wireless communication system, a wired communication system and a combination wireless and wired communication system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the travel parameter data comprises receiving travel parameter data selected from a group consisting of weather data, traffic flow data, traffic congestion data, accident data, road conditions data, road construction data, road closing data, detour data, airport parking data, airport security line data, airport check-in line data, flight schedule data, flight delay data and flight cancellation data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the client system is to trigger an alarm system responsive to receipt of the departure notification.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein issuing the departure notification to the client system comprises issuing a departure notification to a client system selected from a group consisting of a client system integrated with an alarm system and a client system communicatively coupled to an alarm system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein issuing the departure notification to the client system comprises issuing a departure notification to a client system operable to be communicatively coupled to an alarm system via a communication channel selected from a group consisting of a wireless communication channel, a short range wireless communication channel, a Bluetooth communication channel and a wired communication channel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein issuing the departure notification to the client system comprises issuing a departure notification to a client system selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, a personal assistant, a cellular telephone and a pocket personal computer.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying an advance notice time period;

determining a departure notification transmission time for issuing the departure notification from the travel assistance system to the client system based on the advance notice time period; and

issuing the departure notification from the travel assistance system to the client system at approximately the departure notification transmission time.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a transportation mode to enable travel from the source location to the destination location, and

wherein determining the departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time comprises determining a departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time based on the transportation mode.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer executable program to cause a processor to provide a departure notification from a travel assistance system, comprising computer readable code to:

receive a source location, a destination location, information related to a transportation commodity at the destination location, and a desired destination arrival time at the destination location;

receive travel parameter data from a transportation status system based on the information related to the transportation commodity at the destination location;

determine a departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time based on the source location, the destination location, the desired destination arrival time and the travel parameter data; and

issue a departure notification from the travel assistance system to a client system, the departure notification including the departure time.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, further comprising computer readable code to establish communicative coupling between the travel assistance system and the client system via a system selected from a group consisting of a network infrastructure, an Internet network, wireless communication system, a wired communication system and a combination wireless and wired communication system.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the computer readable code to receive the travel parameter data comprises computer readable code to receive travel parameter data selected from a group consisting of weather data, traffic flow data, traffic congestion data, accident data, road conditions data, road construction data, road closing data, detour data, airport parking data, airport security line data, airport check-in line data, flight schedule data, flight delay data and flight cancellation data.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the client system is to trigger an alarm system responsive to receipt of the departure notification.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the computer readable code to issue the departure notification to the client system comprises computer readable code to issue a departure notification to a client system selected from a group consisting of a client system integrated with an alarm system and a client system communicatively coupled to an alarm system.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the computer readable code to issue the departure notification to the client system comprises computer readable code for issuing a departure notification to a client system operable to be communicatively coupled to an alarm system via a communication channel selected from a group consisting of a wireless communication channel, a short range wireless communication channel, a Bluetooth communication channel and a wired communication channel.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the computer readable code to issue the departure notification to the client system comprises computer readable code for issuing a departure notification to a client system selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, a personal assistant, a cellular telephone and a pocket personal computer.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 10, further comprising:

computer readable code to identify an advance notice time period; and

computer readable code to determine a departure notification transmission time for issuing the departure notification from the travel assistance system to the client system based on the advance notice time period; and

computer readable code to issue the departure notification from the travel assistance system to the client system at approximately the departure notification transmission time.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 10, further comprising computer readable code to receive a transportation mode to enable travel from the source location to the destination location, and

wherein the computer readable code to determine the departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time comprises computer readable code to determine a departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time based on the transportation mode.

19. A system for providing a departure notification from a travel assistance system, the system comprising:

a request processing module to receive a source location, a destination location, information related to a transportation commodity at the destination location, and a desired destination arrival time at the destination location;

a travel parameter module to receive travel parameter data from a transportation status system based on the information related to the transportation commodity at the destination location; and

a departure notification module to determine a departure time from the source location that enables arrival at the destination location at approximately the desired destination arrival time based on the source location, the destination location, the desired destination arrival time and the travel parameter data and to issue a departure notification from the travel assistance system to a client system, the departure notification including the departure time.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the departure notification module is to identify a departure preparation time period, to determine a departure notification transmission time for issuing the departure notification from the travel assistance system to the client system based on the departure preparation time period and to issue the departure notification from the travel assistance system at approximately the departure notification transmission time.